So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him! (Luke 11:9-13)

Ask, Seek, Knock, And Receive

The greatest joy of being a child of God is the blessings received from the hand of the divine Father. Some great fathers have exemplified noble characters of love, courage, wisdom, and protection but all fathers are failed men. They try to be the best fathers and yet fail from time to time. Jesus tells His disciples the heavenly Father gives immense blessings without partiality. Three principles mark the need of the child, and three principles declare the glory of the Father. The child of God must ask, seek, and knock to receive the blessings of the Father. In turn, the Father will answer, will deliver, and will open His storehouse of blessings upon His child. What is remarkable about the heavenly Father is He knows what the child needs, but the child must first ask, seek, and knock. There is a need for the child to learn dependence on the Father to receive the blessings.

Asking for the blessings of God can only come through the knowledge of the word of God. Someone said that prayer is pleading the promises of God and that no prayer can be answered if God did not promise it. Praying to the Father comes from knowing what to ask and how to ask for His divine blessings. The more a man spends in the word of God, the more he will seek the divine will. Asking requires knowledge. It creates in the heart a daily desire to seek the favor of God in every part of life. Nothing is left to chance or circumstance. The prayerful life of a child of God is filled with asking. When God hears the pleas of His children, He will give the child what they need. His blessings will not come if the child does not ask. God is faithful to answer every prayer of His children. No prayers are left unanswered.

Seeking God through prayer is an active part of a spiritual life. When a person is seeking something, they actively pursue with vigor what they desire. What they desire is not hidden in a place that cannot be found but rather, it is in an area that requires diligence with faith. Seeking the will of God is the pattern of a praying life as a man asks for the blessings of God. The Lord promised to feed the sparrow, but He did not promise to bring it to the nest. The child of God must live a seeking life to find those blessings promised by God. When a child strives for the promises of the Divine, he will find more than he could have imagined. Seeking the blessings of God will be rewarded with the open arms of the Father granting the desires of His child.

Knocking on a door suggests a need to enter. When Jesus knocks on the door, the handle is always on the inside. He can stand at the door and knock, but it needs the faithful heart of God’s child to open it from the inside. In the teaching of Jesus, the door will not be open unless the child of God knocks on the door. All the eternal blessings of God await inside the door of the heavenly storehouse abounding with the eternal measures of divine love, compassion, forgiveness, mercy, and grace. None of these will have any value unless the child knocks on the door. The joy of living for the Lord is to know that when He hears a knock at the door, He will open the door. He knows the names of His children, and He willingly opens wide the door of His grace to let His children come in. Knock, and the door opens.

Jesus concludes His teaching by comparing what earthly fathers will do for their children and how the heavenly Father will bless His children. If an earthly father seeks the betterment and good of his children, how much more will the Father in heaven? God will not answer prayers with stones, serpents, or scorpions. Even an earthly father would not do such a thing for his children. The heavenly Father gives His children bread, fish, and an egg to sustain them and fill them. Jesus is teaching that God will bless His children with everything they need in abundance. God answers every prayer in the manner He sees fit, and it is the right and just thing that is offered.

A child of God should never doubt the power of their prayers. When they ask, seek, and knock, the Father will answer, give, and open – without exception. If anything is lacking, it will only come from the heart of little faith. Jesus extols the virtues of the heavenly Father is immeasurable. Let no day go by when the heart is not asking, seeking, and knocking, and the blessings will flow like a mountain stream from the throne of God. How much more will the heavenly Father give than the incredible blessings from His holy hand. Thank God for His blessings.